


The Servants of Despair

by FreakySandra1995



Category: Dangan Ronpa, Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, Possible smut, post sdr2, spoiler another episode
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-28
Updated: 2015-07-23
Packaged: 2018-03-09 11:45:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3248477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FreakySandra1995/pseuds/FreakySandra1995
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When the Tragedy finally started to come to an end, the first despair student awoke of his infinite dream.<br/>But what's concidered to be a hopeful sign soon turned out to be the roots of an even more Despair-Inducing Incident Mankind has yet so see.<br/>As the 2nd Enoshima Junko raises from the shadows, the real Tragedy begins.<br/>The final showdown of despair and hope.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Restless

Naegi Makoto never imagined that one day in his average life, he would work on a program all night long, just like those intelligent hacker he saw on TV. He had always been the unfortunate one when it came to electronic devices, so if it was possible, he chose to avoid such tasks.

Yet despite his lack of technical confidence, here he was, trying to revive something that not even Kyouko Kirigiri thought savable - and she knew a lot more about Artificial Intelligence than he does. Then again, drastic times always called for drastic actions. And if you've survived a mutual killing game, gather a group of obsessed mass murderers and bring them back to sanity while the organisation you work for wants them dead...

then losing sleep over a program might be a secondary issue.

Probably.

Makoto yawned and stretched his arms above his head to keep himself alert. He was barely able to keep his eyes open anymore, so he allowed himself a short break to get up and get a cup of coffee. The clock on the wall struck 2 o'clock when he took the first sip of the bitter liquid. He couldn't help but frown by the fact that he basically wasted 5 hours of his time without making any progress. His co-workers were asleep by now, so he tried to be as quiet as possible when he returned to the library to work a little more.

He leaned towards the display of the laptop again and studied the data it provided.

"I should have known you were still in here Naegi."

Makoto jolted away from the computer and turned around to see who had just entered the room, spilling the rest of his coffee on the floor in the process.  
A tall, blond man wearing a suit and glasses stared down at him, blue eyes fixated on him with a cold stare. While the sight of that man would have left people scared more than anything else, Makoto sighed in relief and gave him a little smile.

"Togami-kun, what can I do for you?"

Byakuya Togami stepped closer to where Makoto was working, carefully avoiding the coffee stain on the floor, the annoyed expression lingering on his face.

"Asahina was worried about your whereabouts, so she begged me to look for you. I told her that you were just pointlessly spending your time, and it seems I was right." He pointed at to the laptop, his lips curling into a thin line.

"You cannot fix this alone, Naegi. The virus damaged their data completely. Give it up already." he scowled.

His hostile attitude didn’t face Makoto. In all these years he knew Togami, he accepted that this is the way he communicated with other people. So he remained calm and started to clean up the mess he made, repeating his reasons patiently.

"They might be damaged, but they are still there. We can't tell if we can repair their data when we don't try Togami-kun. I promised I would help them find a solution for their problem. Usami and Nanami are the only ones who might be able to change the fates of their sleeping classmates, so the least I can do is to make them function again."

A sigh escaped Togami's lips and he adjusted his glasses.  
“Promises like that will only get you in trouble. The fact that they are still alive is more than they deserve.”  
Makoto smile faltered a little at that, but he neither denied or agreed with his opinion.  
“It doesn’t matter.”  
Silence fell between them after that. Makoto was sure that Togami would leave soon if he saw that he wouldn’t change his mind today either.  
"Did you make any progress at least? Or do you just waste your time staring at the screen and hoping the problem will resolve itself?" Togami asked while he rested his head on his right hand.

"Well... there could be some progress soon if I’m able to access the source code of Usami. But for now...It's still the same as before.”

Togami leaned forward and sighed disappointed.

“Why don’t you try and start with something smaller for a change?”

Makoto blinked and looked up to meet Togami’s eyes.

“What do you mean?”

“Come on Naegi. You tried over and over to revive only Chiaki and Usami, and failed every time. I thought that even you should be able to realize at some point that going this way won’t result in anything. You cannot make bricks without straw you know.”

This was the first time that someone was giving Makoto an advice different then “Just give it up already!”  
He was taken by surprise and looked in awe at Togami.

“I cannot… make bricks without straw?” He repeated, when slowly realization was dawning on him. Togami’s stare was unwavering.  
“Tell me Naegi. What is it you have to do?”  
If he wanted to make them function again, the first thing he should be doing is…

“Of course… I have to bring Alter Ego back to its former self before I can start on Chiaki and Usami!” Makoto blurted out,  frustrated with himself that he never came with such a simple solution. Togami rubbed his right temple as if he was in pain, nodding in confirmation.

“Your ability to make logical conclusions seems to have suffered a lot since our school days.” Makoto sheepishly scratched the back of his head at that statement.

“I admit I never thought about something like that. But how come you just told me now, Togami-kun?” Makoto couldn’t help but to sound bitter, after all, he did try to work on a solution for a longer time and could’ve used a push in the right direction. Togami just shrugged. “Who knows? Maybe I just got bored to see you do the same mistakes again and again. Or I took pity on you. I don’t know what exactly you wish to do with my reasons. Try to get Alter Ego to work again, or go and get some rest. I would personally advise the latter, considering we are leaving at 6 in the morning to Jabberwock Island.”

A gasp escaped Makoto at that.

“6am? Oh no, I totally forgot about that!” He shut the laptop and put it back in his bag, eyes stinging with the thought of another short night. He yawned immediately and rubbed his right eye while facing Togami.

“Thank you Togami-kun. I guess I don’t know why you did it, but I’ll take your advice and try it out as soon as I can.” Makoto smiled a honest smile and gestured to the door as he stood up.

“I’ll take my leave then.”

The heir pressed his lips together and, to Makoto’s surprise, he pointed to the bag with the laptop in it.

“I’ve already rested. Give it to me. I’ll continue for you. That way you have some basics to work on later.”

That took Makoto out of balance. For weeks, nobody bothered to stick around while he was working to get the program running. Now Byakuya Togami offered to let him rest while he would work for him instead?  
Just what was he trying to do?

“Is something the matter Togami-kun? It’s not that I mind, but… that isn’t like you at all.”  
Togam eyes narrowed at that, his hand still outstretched for the bag.

“Listen, I don’t feel like sleeping anymore and that constant miserable look of failure on your face is getting on my nerves. I might as well use my time for that.”

When Makoto was still hesitant to give in, Togami actually groaned and snapped the bag out of his weak grip.

“Go to bed and just accept the offer, will you?” Togami snapped at him. He turned around and sat on the chair Makoto had preoccupied before.

Makoto himself stared at him dumbfounded for some seconds before realization dawned upon him once again.  
Touko Fukawa, another one of his old classmates and co-worker, wouldn’t be joining them in the morning. She had left yesterday to go and meet his sister back at Towa city.  
Although Togami would never in his life admit it, he was getting more and more worried for his fiance, considering the current “state” she was in.  
Towa city was no place to be at when you wanted to be safe, so that worry was understandable.  
When Makoto put two and two together, he wasn’t suspicious about Togami’s behavior anymore. The uneasy feeling faded away and when he left with a simple “Goodnight then!” he was happy that finally somebody was willing to help the people on the island too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you find any spelling mistakes or similiar things, I apologize. I'm from Germany, so I might have made some weird sentences.


	2. Patience

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time for the second protagonist!

It was early morning when Hajime Hinata walked into the restaurant. He was always the first person to arrive, so it wasn’t a surprise to see that nobody was here yet. With a long yawn he made his way to the kitchen and checked the fridge for something to eat.  
  
The supplies they got from the Future Foundation were getting short, but it wasn’t anything to worry about. If he remembered correctly (as he always did), they would be getting more this afternoon when the helicopter arrives. For now, they would have to settle for eggs and toast alone though.  
  
He was halfway through preparing breakfast when a loud yell of “I SMELL FOOOOOOOOOD” made him look up. Seconds later an excited Owari Akane came rushing to the kitchen, her expression fixed on the pan in his hands.  
  
“Haha, I knew my gut was right!” She laughed and gazed greedily at the food. “I didn’t even need to check the clock!  When can I eat it? Can I eat it now? I’m _starving_!”  
  
A frown appeared on Hinata’s face when she finished her sentence. He could tell that she wasn’t serious about her last comment, yet the sight of her body always gave him a different message. What else could he think when she looked like an skeleton coming alive, no more than skin and bones, even when she tried her best to become better?

“Wait just a little bit longer. I’m almost done.” Hinata muttered, replacing his frown with a kind smile. Owari didn’t look pleased. She put both of her hands fiercely together, her face showing nothing but determination.

“Well you better don’t keep me waiting too long Hinata! I’ll give you time until I’ve set the table! I can’t guarantee for anything if the food's not ready by then, you know?” she declared energetic and ran back to the dining hall.

Hinata couldn’t help but giggle softly. He was glad that while her body had changed, her personality remained untouched.  
By the time he finished making breakfast two more people had joined Owari in the restaurant. A man with strange white hair and scars all over his arms, who was slumped over the table, and a beautiful woman in a fancy dress and blond ponytail who was talking eagerly with Owari.

When she saw him coming out of the kitchen door, Sonia Nevermind gave Hinata a graceful wave.

“Hinata-san! Good morning. I hope you had a good night’s rest?” She greeted him cheerfully as he took a seat on the table.

“Morning Sonia.” He replied and put the plate with food in the center of the table, so everyone could take how much they wanted. “It was the same as usual, just a bit short thanks to that guy.” Hinata looked to the other person.  
  
Kazuichi Souda grunted sleepily and lifted his head on the table as a respond. Strands of his white hair fell on his face, but he didn’t seem to be bothered about that.

“Hey, it’s not my fault that those damn machines had a breakdown. Whoever designed that crap really should have thought to make them more transportable.” He growled and rubbed his eyes with his hands. His yellow sleeves slid down a little and revealed more aggressive looking scars.

“Souda-san…” Sonia murmured and made a gesture to his arms. She seemed very uncomfortable to see them so bare.

“Oh…” the mechanic said when he understood her intentions and casually put his sleeves over them again. “Sorry Sonia-san, my bad.” He gave her an apologetic grin.

Sonia averted her gaze and filled her plate with food.

“It’s okay… So you two worked on that project again. Is that why you weren’t visiting the others Hinata-san?” Curiosity was painted in her face when she asked. Hinata swallowed thickly and picked at his portion of eggs.

“I uhm… wasn’t feeling like visiting. So yeah, I stayed with Souda and helped him the whole day.” he said and quickly took a big bite. He really didn’t want to think about that topic for longer than he needed to.

Owari, who was already halfway through her plate, punched Hinata playfully on the shoulder.  
“Hey, don’t make such a face! Nobody thinks ill of you for that. We all need our breaks from time to time. Everything is still new, after all.”

Although he nodded at her words, the knot in his stomach only got heavier. Sonia started to change the topic into a more pleasant direction, but he wasn’t paying her much attention anymore. His head started to throb, so his fingers softly pressed on his temple to soothe the pain.

Every one of his classmates had changed physically and mentally, Hinata included. It was still hard for him to even look in a mirror without disgustingly starring into those red eyes of his, a painful reminder of the days he lived as Izuru Kamakura. He missed the natural green color they once had. At least Hinata cut his long, dark hair short again, yet some things couldn’t be changed.

His brain was a great example for that.

Izuru Kamakura wasn’t designed by Hope’s Peak to bother with things which distract him from developing his talents. Feelings, memories, morals…only boredom was allowed to exist in his head. In order to transform him to Super High School Hope, he had to become utterly hopeless on the inside.

So when the emotional, talentless Hinata gained back control of the always-bored, perfect Kamakura brain, negative effects were bound to happen. He was able to make his body feel emotions, still dull compared to past feelings, yet it was something. If he tries hard to gain back memories, he was able to succeed, causing his head to ache terribly. And sometimes, like it did the day before, he nearly falls back into being Izuru again, constantly bored of everyone and everything.

“Hinata-san?” Sonia’s voice brought him back to reality. He shook his head to clear his mind. Everyone was looking at him with worried expressions.

“I’m fine.” he whispered before somebody could ask. “I was just in thoughts. Did you say something to me?”

The princess cleared her throat. “I just wanted to know where you plan to be today. I will greet the Future Foundation this time, so it is of most importance that I know where to send them if they search for someone specifically.”

“…” Hinata blinked twice, and then shrugged. “I guess I will make up for yesterday and be at the hospital.”  
  
Sonia looked like she wanted to ask more, but decided against it, smiling knowingly. Somehow, that little gesture made him fix his gaze on his plate.

“I’ll do some training at the beach to make this lousy body of mine to what it used to be! And after that, I’ll let the old man know about my progress!” Owari exclaimed, her determination shining again all around her.

“And I’ll do my daily check, before I get back to work.” Souda said with a thumb up. “Also, Kuzuryuu will be at the hospital as well. He was on his way there when I met him this morning.”

“I thought that much.” Sonia said and clasped her hands together. “Hinata-san, if you go to the hospital, will you take some food for Kuzuryuu-san? His eating habits worry me as of late.”

“Sure. I was planning on doing that anyway.”

“I’m glad, thank you very much.” She stood up with a cheerful expression. “I shall head out to the airport then. If I remember correctly, it’s Souda-san’s turn to clean the dishes for today after all.”

Said person shoot up with a loud whine. “Whaaaat, me again? I just did it yesterday!”

“Haha, to bad Sharkboy. If you hadn’t slacked off last week, you wouldn’t be in that position.”

Owari ruffled through his white hair. Souda grumbled angrily and took all the empty plates off the table before he made his way to the kitchen. Owari headed out with a small wave towards the other two, running with a remarkable speed to the beach.

Hinata also got ready to leave when Sonia’s hand tugged at his shirt, turning his attention to her. “Is something wrong Sonia?”

She fumbled nervously with her hands and looked apologetic at him. “I’m terribly sorry if I hinder you Hinata-san, but there are some things I wanted to talk about in private.”

He raised an eyebrow in question and smiled calmly. “Go on?”

She reached in a bag she brought with her and took out four heavy looking books. After taking a short glance at them, Sonia gave Hinata the books. He was puzzled by her action and she lowered her voice a little to explain herself.

“As you couldn’t go yesterday, I was visiting Komaeda-san in your place for a little while.” His eyes widen at those words.

“You... really?”

She nodded slightly. “And I couldn’t help but notice the book you left there. The bookmark showed that you were almost through with it. Since I guessed that you wouldn’t have time to search for new stories at the library, I thought you might appreciate it if I just bring you some. Those are very complicated but interesting mysteries. I uhm…”

A hint of that knowing stare appeared once again on her face. “I think Komaeda-san might find them very entertaining.”

Hinata’s throat went dry and he avoided eye contact with her.

“Ah, how embarrassing. So you figured out what I’m doing there, huh?” he muttered, awkwardly starring at his feet.

She smiled softly and nodded once again. “It’s not that hard to guess. As things stand now, connecting with our friends is of most importance. Reading books out loud is actually a pretty good idea. I might do the same with Tanaka-san when I see him next time.”

She hesitated after that and chewed on her bottom lip. It was obvious that there was more Sonia wanted to say, yet the words wouldn’t leave her mouth. Hinata however thought he had a good idea what bothered her.

“Don’t worry Sonia. Tanaka will be my first stop after I brought Kuzuryuu his food.”

She looked up with a surprised face and a faint blush graced her cheeks.

“Hehe… so my intentions aren’t that hard to guess either.” Relief washed over her features and she immediately relaxed, confirming the hunch he had about her worries.

“You have my deepest gratitude Hinata-san. I do feel bad to leave him without company for a whole day.”

“I understand that, so you don’t need you thank me. We all watch out for each other, right?”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Sonia agreed and chuckled lightly.

* * *

 

They departed to their destinations soon afterwards. It wasn’t a long way to the hospital, so the food Hinata ought to give Kuzuryuu was still warm when he arrived.  
The hospital hadn’t changed much from its appearance back in the simulation. The sick rooms Hinata headed to were still on the first floor. Thankfully, the Monokuma attractions he used to see when he went through the halls weren’t actual design elements. The wall was empty except of some old cupboards they stored medicine in. He stopped before the last white door of the hall and knocked softly.

“Kuzuryuu, are you there?”

Someone shifted inside and a low groan of “Come in…” could be heard.

Hinata slowly opened the door and got inside, holding up the bag with breakfast. A short, blond man with an eye patch on his right eye turned towards him when he entered. Behind him, a machine was filling the room with a slight green light, and a steady noise from a heart monitor rang in his ears.

“You weren’t with us in the morning.  Sonia and I thought you might be hungry.” Hinata gave the bag a small shake and handed it to Kuzuryuu.

“Thanks…” the other muttered and took the bag with his left hand. His right hand was clinging somewhere within the machine that produced the strange light. Kuzuryuu proceeded to open the bag one handed, glaring Hinata down when he offered to help him. Hinata shrugged and settled beside him, believing it to be rude to leave so soon. Being in that position, he had a better view at who laid inside the machine.  
A woman with long, white hair and glasses was resting there, seemingly in a deep sleep. Kuzuryuu’s right hand was tightly holding onto her left hand, his fingers intertwined with her lose ones. Feeling like he was intruding in something intimidate, Hinata made sure to not stare at this gesture for long.

“How’s she doing?” He asked cautiously.

The blonde boy expression was bitter when he took a small bite with his chopsticks.

“Tch, same as always.”

“No changes then…”

“…”

Kuzuryuu hung his head. The air grew uncomfortably heavy around them. Hesitantly, Hinata reached his hand out and touched his shoulder in comfort. He didn’t shake it off.

“This is such bullshit…” Kuzuryuu muttered angrily. He balled his hand with the chopsticks tightly together, which caused them to snap in half. “It’s been fucking months and we’ve haven’t accomplish anything. How much longer do we have to wait for _something_ to change, damnit?!”  
  
Hinata wished he could give an answer, but as he wasn’t able to, he just silently let his friend curse and rant. Saying you understand won’t heal the pain. Demanding to get it together will make anger boil harder. Experience had taught him that silence was the best way to deal with such outbursts.

“…”

Kuzuryuu took a deep breath and let his hand loosen. The chopstick pieces fell on the floor and Hinata made a mental note to clean them up later. When the other boy took the hand of the woman with both of his, he took it as a clue to take his leave.

“I’ll see you later then.” Hinata said. Kuzuryuu made a little jerk motion with his head.

“Yeah, see you later. Thank you, Hinata.”

“Don’t mention it.”  
  
As he promised Sonia, Hinata made sure to hang around Gundham Tanaka’s room for a while. As expected, the breeder was not able to respond to his greetings and looked as though he slept deeply. He knew better of course.

Beside him was a little hamster cage, in which two little hamsters currently slept within. Hinata opened up the little bag with sunflower seeds that was stored inside a cupboard and refilled their food. One of the hamsters, which he vaguely remembers had the name “San-D”, immediately rose to action and took a seed.

“You were quite hungry, huh?” He mustered amused and softly stroke the hamster with his index finger.

The other small animal, called “Jum-P”, remained in its resting place. Hinata knew better than to push the hamster to the food, still faintly feeling the bite he once received while doing so.  
He closed the cage again and took a seat on the chair near the machine. After he cleared his throat a little, Hinata started to speak to the unconscious man. It weren’t very important topics he talked about, yet he made sure to make them as interesting for Tanaka as he was capable of.

 _“As things stand now, connecting with our friends is of most importance.”_ Sonia’s words still echoed in his mind as a reminder.

Trying to connect with the comatose people was an idea Souda came up with some weeks ago.

_“It’s very simple.”_

He had explained when the whole group got together.

_“We all believe that everyone who died in the game still have some sort of conscious, right?”_

_“Obviously.” Kuzuryuu growled._

_“Right. My point is that sometimes, people in even the deepest coma are able to somehow sense what’s going on around them. Not everyone does the same way of course. It can go from having the feeling somebody might be in the room to actually hearing what a person is saying. Due to being in coma they couldn’t respond in any way of course, but lucky ones who woke up told about their experience-”_

_“I swear if you don’t hurry the fuck up-“_

_Souda looked sour when the Yakuza interrupted his seemingly well prepared explanation._  
  
_“Alright alright! I just think we have to stop being depressed when we are with the others.” He huffed and glared at Kuzuryuu._  
  
  


_“What do you suggest we do instead?” Hinata asked before Souda and Kuzuryuu could start to fight. The mechanic pouted annoyed while the other clicked his tongue._

_“Souda-san, continue with your speak.” Sonia declared with an authority in her voice only she could muster. He gulped and immediately began to explain further._

_“Anything that seems distracting. Talking with them or telling jokes, whatever seems to be appropriate? We just need to stop treating them like… well, like they are dead.”_

_That left everyone silence for some seconds._

_“I do believe we give it our best not to think of them as dead.” Sonia choked out with trembling lips._

_Souda immediately panicked at the thought of having upset her._

_“T-that’s not what I meant Sonia-san!  I-I just…” he took a deep breath and raised his arm accusingly. “Would you guys like it to hear weeping all the damn time? With nobody to talk to and nothing to do? I know that if this would be happening to me, I would go nuts. We should make their situation as comfortable as we can.”_

_“Wow!” Owari whistled. “I never thought you could come up with something like that Souda! I always believed you were the most insensitive of us all.”_

_“The last person I want to hear this from is you!” Souda wailed and tug his hat over his ears._

In the end, they had agreed to try out Souda’s idea. In their own way, everyone tried to be there for the people they were close to. The mechanic equipped each patient’s room with a CD-player that would play soothing music. Sonia herself picked the songs for each individual.  
It wasn’t much, yet it was better than silently waiting for something to change.     

“I hope you are doing fine…” Hinata muttered to Tanaka as he took his leave some hours later. “Sonia is really busy today, so she couldn’t visit you. Don’t worry though, she will be there tomorrow.”  
  
Tanaka didn’t respond.

They never did.

He sighed deeply when he closed the door to his room. At least half of the day was over. For a second, he wondered if the Future Foundation already arrived on the Island.  
When he took the first step towards his last destination for the day, one of the books Sonia had pushed onto him fell out of his grasp. It landed on the floor with a soft thud. Hinata made a movement to pick it up, when unexpectedly-  
  
A smaller hand had grasped it before he could.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for the support! You're awesome :)


	3. Alter Ego

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Hinata has to endure, Togami gets pissed and Kirigiri, Makoto and Sonia just want everyone to get along.
> 
> Also, just to be sure: Trigger Warning at the end for mentioning of violence and corpse abuse.

The book wasn’t even in the possession of the intruder for more than a second before Hinata jumped back in self-defense.  
  
The person who startled him raised very slowly, their lavender eyes starring calmly into his red ones.  
  
He recognized the figure before him and his eyes widen in surprise. “Kirigiri?”

  
  
Kirigiri smiled softly at him. “I’m sorry.” She said carefully while holding up his book. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”  
  
He gave an awkward smile in return and took the mystery back in his possession. “It’s fine. I just didn’t expect to meet anyone else for today.”  
  
“I thought as much. I’m just here for a quick check-up of your friends.” She pointed towards the door behind her, which he recognized as Tsumiki Mikan’s room. “I’ve hoped that she at least would show signs of recovery, but…” she left her sentence unfinished, most likely noticing how uncomfortable that topic made Hinata.  
  
He coughed nervously in his left fist to stop it from shaking. “Y-yeah, nothing changed yet. Still, we’re confident that they will wake up eventually.”  
  
Kirigiri looked at him observantly, and then sighed with that soft smile still on her face.  
“It’s nice to see how much you care about the wellbeing of your friends. I’m impressed how each room is filled with their own personalities. They surely appreciate it.”  
  
"That's kind of you to say. But we wouldn’t have been able to do this if it wasn’t for you guys. Your help is not less appreciated."  
  
"I’m glad to hear that.” Suddenly, her expression turned into a serious one. “Speaking of our help. Togami would like to see you before the day ends. I... think you have a good enough picture of him to understand that not meeting him will result in unnecessary complications.”

“Why does he want to see me?” he asked nervously when Kirigiri didn’t add anything else. Although it was silly, he had the feeling that he had been caught in something forbidden.  
  
“I do have some ideas, but as he just told me to play messenger for him, I cannot say for sure.” She adjusted her gloves in a casual matter when he gave her a curious look.  
“You’ll have to go and see yourself. Although…” her voice got much quieter. “I advise you to complete your round first. So you can go with a clear mind.”  
  
“Yeah…” he responded with sarcasm. “I’m sure that will clear my head.”  
Hinata let his gaze drift towards the floor as soon as the words escaped his mouth.  
It didn’t mean he wouldn’t visit Komaeda though.  
  
Kirigiri frowned slightly. “Will you be able to handle it?”  
  
He nodded, hoping it seemed confident enough. It was impossible to fool the Kyouko Kirigiri, but it may be enough for her to drop the matter. Hinata didn’t want to talk about it any longer.  
“Alright then.” She added softly and closed her eyes in understanding. “I’ll go and talk to your friends then. We’ll most likely met later in the airport. See you later, Hinata.”  
Kirigiri passed by him then and headed towards Peko’s room. Hinata stood there for some seconds and watched her leaving. A deep sigh escaped him, and he still felt the unpleasant feeling of guilt in his chest.  
  
Just why was he feeling guilty anyway?  
  
Hinata forced himself to start moving again. He needed to at least get the books to Komaeda’s room before he could get to the bottom of this.  
But as soon as he stood before his door, the curiosity subsided and his heart started beating faster.  
  
It should be the same as it was for every other person.  
He shouldn’t feel nervous about this.  
Not after all this time.  
Not when there wasn’t even anybody here who could see him.  
  
Yet he was.  
  
“Stop being a coward…” Hinata told himself when he firmly gripped the handle and opened the door.  
He was greeted with a constant beeping of another heart machine and the low sound of classical music. Komaeda rested unmoving inside his machine with his hands neatly placed on his stomach.  
  
The room was just the same as it was in every other in the hospital.  
  
But the atmosphere was a different one. Hinata could feel his heart beating just a little bit faster when he moved closer and sat on the chair beside Komaeda with a quiet “Hello.”  
As far as he knows, everybody else felt scarred or uncomfortable around Komaeda.  
Hinata couldn’t say the same for himself.  
Whenever he visited Komaeda, a faint feeling of excitement rushed through his body. There was no reasonable explanation of why that was happening. He speculated it to be the desire to escape boredom. Hinata couldn’t predict what would happen once Komaeda woke up. He didn’t understand him nearly enough for such a task. With Komaeda, anything was possible.  
  
It doesn’t explain why he was feeling weirdly comfortable watching him sleep, though.  
That should be a boring activity for his ruined brain. Still, it helped him pass time in a friendly matter.  
The way Sonia looked at him when they talked about Komaeda came back at his mind. He swallowed thickly at the realization what she must think about his visits.  
  
“Ridiculous” he hissed in a hushed voice and quickly opened one of the books to distract himself from that stupid thought.  
  
“I’m assuming you were told how the story of last time ended. If not, you will have to figure out who the murder was when you’re awake.” Hinata gave Komaeda a thoughtful look. “However, you surely figured it out before we even reached chapter two, didn’t you?”  
  
Other than a barely noticing rising of his chest when he breathed in, there wasn’t any reaction from Komaeda to his question.   
  
“Whatever…” Hinata grumbled and cleared his throat. “This time, it should be difficult.”  
  
The language of the book was French, but Hinata was able to read it out loud fluently in their native language as if the story was written that way.  
Wouldn’t there be those horrific side-effects of his new brain, he might have found it cool to read other languages with no problem.  
  
“Now that’s strange…” he interrupted himself when they’ve reached the investigation part of the story. “The detective seems to have the right idea for a change, and that makes me suspicious. Their first guess is never the right one, as it goes.” Hinata tapped his fingers on his thigh as he tried to make sense with the fictional case. He glanced back at his friends sleeping form.  
  
“What do you think?”  
  
No response.  
  
Hinata bit his bottom lip in frustration. He wanted a reaction. Doing the same again and again was exhausting when nothing came out of it.  
  
“I wonder, you know.” Hinata whispered and closed the book absent minded. The idea that came across his mind was way more interesting for him now anyway.  
  
“I want to try something.”  
  
He leaned over Komaeda’s body, so that he could watch his face closely and notice any minimal movement.  
  
“If you have any way to communicate with me…” Hinata continued with the same low voice, as if he doesn’t wished to be overheard by any other than Komaeda. “Then, please, do it now. Just a movement of your fingers or eyes is enough. I’m sick and tired to talk to myself like I’m crazy.” Not that he wasn’t, but that wasn’t the point.  
  
“Do you think the old woman killed the father?”  
  
Other than the annoying beeping and the soft sound of classic music, nothing was said and the boy beneath him didn’t move.  
  
“Do you disagree?”  
  
“…”  
  
“Why won’t you do anything?”  
  
“…”  
  
“Is this just another one of your “Show me your hope” obstacles?”  
  
“……….”  
  
“ _Komaeda_.” Hinata could hear the shaking in his voice when he said his name.  
But it didn’t change the fact that Komaeda stayed like he was.  
Comatose.  
  
“You piss me off…” Hinata muttered and leaned back in his chair. A numb sting in his chest followed.  
The faint feeling of disappointment.

* * *

  
  
“He is **_late!_** ” Togami furiously stated as he paced the lunch room back and forth. Makoto smiled nervously at him, but didn’t speak up. He knew it was a lost case, with his sister calling and telling them the bad news that pregnant Toka Fukawa was pregnant Genocider Syo at the moment. Thankfully for all involved, Sonia took it on herself to give Komaru advice on the phone. She currently stood outside of the building, so Togami couldn’t take his anger out on her or Komaru.  
It was impressive just how much the princess knew about serial killer and their way of thinking.  
And maybe also a bit disturbing.  
The door opened, and Togami’s angry wandering stopped for a second when he saw Kirigiri walking in.  
  
“Asahina and Hagakure are on their way to pick up Komaru and Fukawa. And no…“ She shot a look at Togami as he opened his mouth. “I do not know how long it will take. But it surely won’t be until tomorrow morning.”  
  
“Well aren’t you a smartass!” he spitted out harshly and began pacing once again. The detective only raised an eyebrow as reaction to his rude behavior. Makoto found himself again impressed by her composure. He made sure to make some space for her when she walked towards him and sat beside him.  
  
“Do you think Hinata-kun will show up before Togami-kun will break a window?” he asked casually while trying his hardest not to get flustered by their proximity.  
  
“I wouldn’t count on that at this stage of aggression.” Kirigiri muttered. She looked over Makoto’s shoulder and hummed slightly when she saw what he was doing. A strand of her hair tickled his cheek as a result. It was a pleasent feeling.  
  
“So I was right, you’re still going on about restoring the programs authorities. Your enthusiasm on this is impressive.”  
  
“Ehehe, you should already know Kirigiri-san, I am an overly optimistic person.”  
  
“Of course. Your only redeeming quality, was it?” she asked in a slightly teasing tone. “And how’s it turning out?”  
  
“We’ve made some sort of progress, but to be honest, Togami-kun deserves the praise for this.” Makoto admitted meekly and gave her a bright smile. Kirigiri returned with a small smile herself and patted his shoulder softly.  
  
“If you hadn’t insisted on it, nobody would have even wasted a thought on this Naegi-kun. I feel bad for not offering you my help more often on this.”  
  
“Oh, no! Don’t say that Kirigiri! You have your own matters to attend to!” Makoto reached for her hand on his shoulder. He wanted to reassure her that he was not thinking badly of her.  
  
“Oh god, would you two cut it out when I’m in the same room? It’s making me nauseous.” Togami groaned and pointed accusingly at Kirigiri. “Also, are you **sure** you told Hinata that I wanted to see him?”  
  
She met his glare with a calm expression. “Yes, I did. But if you can’t bother to tell me the reason why he should see you, there isn’t much I can do.”  
  
“This isn’t even my problem to begin with, so don’t you start with that! If he doesn’t show up in 5 minutes, I’ll throw the laptop into the ocean.” Togami gritted his teeth in annoyance.  
  
Makoto silently wished for Fukawa and Komaru to arrive soon.  
  
“That’s not necessary.” said a voice suddenly behind them. Startled, the men turned their head to see Hinata entering the room. Kirigiri didn’t seem surprised at Hinata’s sudden appearance.  
  
“About damn time.” Togami said and rubbed his forehead.  
  
“Nice to see you Hinata-kun!” Makoto greeted him and stood up to shake the other’s hand.  
  
“Great to see you too, Naegi-kun.” Hinata let go of his hand and turned to Togami. “I was told you wanted to see me?”  
  
“That’s correct.” Togami grumbled, not meeting his gaze. He started to look very exhausted. “But I don’t have the nerves to explain everything. So tell him instead, Naegi.”  
  
Kirigiri smiled amused at those words as if she enjoyed a private joke. Makoto on the other hand sighed and gestured for Hinata to take a closer look at the laptop. When he did so, Makoto opened a few programs, and the screen glowed in a green light. Interested, Kirigiri also gave her full attention to the screen.  
Soon after, a head of a young teenager zoomed in the center together with a small textbox. It blinked sometimes, but other than that, the floating head was motionless. A small icon on the upper-left corner appeared, titled Alter Ego.  
  
“Alter Ego… that’s the maker of the Neo-World-Program, am I right?” Hinata asked, his eyes fixed at the teenager’s face. He remembered faintly a red silhouette he talked to while he was still asleep, explaining its function to Hinata in a very confusing way. Seeing it in detail, with a small smile on his face, Hinata felt painfully reminded of Nanami.  
  
“In a way he is, yes.” Kirigiri spoke and leaned back a little. “Without him, it would have been impossible to create the simulation in the way we did. Togami-kun had the idea that with his help, it should be possible to bring Usami and possibly Nanami-san back.”  
  
Hinata’s face lit up with those words. While he knew that Makoto promised to help him, he hadn’t dared to hope for a way to bring her back to life.  
  
“Alter Ego is a great friend of ours, even if many just view him as a program.” Makoto added with a small glance at Togami, who stared impatiently at Hinata. His unspoken thoughts of _Hurry up_ rang in Makoto’s ear as if he had shouted them out loud. “However, since we’ve activated the shut-down, there is a critical problem with his functions.” Makoto demonstrated what he meant before Hinata could ask him. He typed a simple message in the textbox and tried to send it to Alter Ego.  
A big error message showed up immediately after, shutting down the program and throwing them back to the desktop.  
  
“Well that is… odd…” Hinata commented and looked confused at Makoto. “Did you call me here to solve that…?”  
  
“Why else would we demand you in here, you ignorant brat?” Seemingly close to lose himself in annoyance, Togami took the laptop away from Makoto with a swift movement, typed in a few things, then turned the laptop again to show Hinata the program. This time the screen was locked with a simple demand for a 7 letter password.  
  
“Whenever we try to enter the codex of his program, **this** pops up.” Togami’s accusing look couldn’t be ignored anymore, and once again Hinata felt as if he had done something wrong without knowing what. “Before we’ve linked you into the simulation, such things weren’t even a difficult task for Naegi. The only reason we are now blocked out can only be the doing of the person who injected the virus in the first place. In other words, you did this back when you were Izuru Kamakura and tempered with the system.”  
  
Hinata’s eyes widen at his words and he bit his lips hard. “But I don’t remember doing such a thing.”  
  
Unimpressed by that statement, Togami walked closer with his arms crossed before his chest.  
  
“You better start remember now then, because we can’t figure out what on earth you would have picked as a password. It can be anything, a name, a combination, or something completely random. There isn’t nearly enough information of you to know that. Unless you give us the password, we can’t do anything for your friends.” Togami put the laptop back on the table and not too gently forced Hinata to sit down before it.  
  
Hinata looked startled at first, but slowly started to get pissed at this treatment.  
“I told you!” he hissed back. “I can’t remember! Not on demand especially. So back off a bit, would you?”  
Makoto felt bad watching them banter.  
  
“Guys, please, we need to work together on this.” He started, but was cut off with a harsh “Oh shut it Naegi!” from Togami.  
  
“Togami, keep it cool,” Kirigiri said in a warning tone. The tension in the room thickens heavenly, and Makoto wondered if the awkward situation could get any worse.  
  
A knock at the door sounded, and Sonia opened the door slightly to peek through.  
“I’m terribly sorry if I’m interrupting your meeting everyone. It’s just that Genocider-san will only listen to Naegi-san if she is granted a conversation with her _white knight_.”  
  
“I’ll get a headache if those inconvenient situations won’t stop coming.” Togami let go of Hinata and rushed to get the phone, making a harsh comment towards the caller. Sonia looked unsure of how to react, so she just gave an apologetic bow towards everyone and mouthed “ _I’ll be on my way then”_ with her sweet smile.  
  
“I’m sorry for his behavior.” Makoto apologized in a hushed tone when Togami backed off to talk in private. “He’s been on the edge since yesterday evening. He isn’t that warm to begin with, and the whole Fukawa having his baby thing isn’t making things easier.”  
  
“No kidding,” Hinata mumbled and tried his best to relax a little.  
  
“I know it’s pressuring to say it…” Makoto continued and moved next to him. “But if we can get Alter Ego to function normally, it should be child’s play to rebuild the destructed data the virus caused. You must have known this too, or else he wouldn’t be locked by a password.”  
  
“That might be…” Hinata said with the same hushed town, looking concerned at the screen for a while. “It’s just that the only thing that comes into my mind of my despair days is about the journey to get here. Izuru just didn’t bother to memorize anything else, except, well, Junko Enoshima. But her name doesn’t fit the letters.”  
  
Kirigiri touched her chin thoughtfully. “Your own names also don’t fit in it. Then again, Togami would have tried the obvious choices already, am I right?”  
Makoto nodded at her words. “We’ve tried anything we could thought of. Every fitting numbers and words that could relate to Izuru. Nothing seemed right. I’m just glad that we can even try so many times.”    
  
A thought occurred to Hinata. “Did you, um, also tried out the names of each Super High School Despair?”  
  
“We’ve not.” Makoto said in surprise. “When we asked you some question before we sent you to the simulation, you didn’t seem to care about them at all. Why, is there a name on your mind?”  
  
“Since it’s the only thing I can remember, it’s possible that maybe… Komaeda’s name would be worth a try. He made some impression on Izuru, I think. Even if it was a weird one.”  
Then, hesitantly, Hinata typed “Komaeda” as a password, holding his breath.  
  
Makoto and Kirigiri stared at him expectantly, and even Togami gave the group a glance while he gave instructions to the person in the other line.  
  
An error message appeared shortly after Hinata hit enter, stating the password was **false**.  
  
Hinata’s cheek flushed in embarrassment and he cursed himself for even trying. “I guess not, then.”  
  
They didn’t made any progress with guessing the password for the next hours. Hinata was near the point of believing Izuru wasn’t even the person who set it up in the first place, but Togami wouldn’t hear none of that.  
  
“Just because you’re too incompetent to remember correctly doesn’t give you an excuse to just quit.” He said while he adjusted his glasses, his mood slightly better with the knowledge that Genocider was behaving for the time being.  
  
Makoto however gave him a reassuring smile. “No matter what Togami may say Hinata-kun, you don’t have to rush. We’ll be here for a little while until Asahina-san and Hagakure-kun are back.”  
  
“Are you suggesting that I’m not serious-“  
  
“Naegi is right. We can handle Togami’s attitude if you wish to sleep over it. It’s foolish to assume you can just give us the answer because it’s needed.” Kirigiri shrugged after her words. She looked very amused when Togami made an offended sound for being interrupted. “And don’t be ashamed for your choice, too. Don’t forget that you were a different person. So even if it’s a name or code you wish you hadn’t picked, it doesn’t matter to us.”  
  
“Right,” Hinata said. “I’m not him anymore.”  
  
“Exactly. Rest a little, and if you think you got the answer, you can find us here.”  
  
“Thank you Kirigiri-san. I’ll try my hardest to come up with something useful.”  
  
He stood up from the chair and said his goodbye’s to everyone. Except Togami, who muttered “I’ll show her attitude…” under his breath, they wished him a good night, and Hinata left without another word.  
  
When he finally arrived at his room, he was so exhausted that he went to bed without changing his clothes. Even if it had been months, Hinata’s body still got tired pretty fast.  
This wasn’t how he wished to end this day at all.  
But then, when did his wishes ever matter anyway? At least he had something to do, and distraction was always welcome. His head throbbed with a headache.  
This was the last thing he registered before Hinata fell asleep.

* * *

 

In his dreams, he wandered around as Kamakura. _  
  
He looked down at sweet, innocent faces, begging for him to let them live.  
He was watching them scream, letting their blood taint his hands red.  
Slender arms wrapped around him from behind when he killed, cooing promises of despairing excitement into his ear.  
The promises were empty ones, but he still let her have her way with him. Refusing her wouldn’t work either way. That woman knew how to use her mouth effectively, be it words or actions.  
  
“Fall into despair with me, Kamakura-senpai…” she purred while she kissed and bit him violently.  
  
A boring talent of hers, really.  
  
He never felt anything, not when she was alive, nor when she was dead.  
She had wanted him to talk with her other **darlings** , as she preferred to call her followers, so that they could all fulfill what she may not achieve. The only one he had met when she was alive was the nurse. He didn’t even bother to look at her. The nurse was boring in every way.  
Kamakura didn’t care about any of them  
.  
The killing didn’t stopped with the discovery of her corpse, but only got more intense. To his annoyance, it was impossible for him to avoid meeting other members of SHSL Despair. He saw the mechanic build more gruesome weapons, or witnessing the breeder offering one of his animals as a tribute to her passing while his dogs teared apart one of her limbs.  
Whether it was for revenge, or simply because nobody knew any better anymore, they were all going insane.  
At the time the princess and the yakuza were attacking themselves to claim the new leader position, Kamakura decided that their boring behavior wasn’t worth anymore of his attention.  
He traveled through parts of the world alone, leaving a trail of destroyed cities and blood on his way.  
Her despair filled every corner of the world through him, like she wished to.  
  
When he arrived at Towa City a year after her death, it was only to end what she had started. He didn’t expect to bump into one of them when he retrieved the devices he needed for his plan.  
The white-haired man didn’t expect to meet him either, it seemed.  
  
“Oh.” The man breathed when he saw Kamakura, haltering his hobble. Kamakura noted that both his thighs were wounded badly.  
His focus laid then on the man’s face, who gave him a bright smile. It was then that Kamakura knew he must be one of her darlings.  
Somebody he never met in person.  
  
“…Name.” he demanded coldly.  
  
“Mine?” The man laughed in surprise. “Does it matter now? I can’t bother with unnecessary things like that.”  
  
“…”  
  
The ground suddenly began to shake violently under them, but both didn’t seem surprised to such actions. The other man just sank to his knees when his legs couldn’t support his weight with so much movement. His eyes however were still calmly fixed at Kamakura’s.  
  
“I think I know you somehow…” he said while the shaking calmed down a little. “Were you a student at Hope’s Peak Academy?”  
  
Kamakura only blinked at the man’s question.  
  
The other huffed in slight disappointment after some moments. “Huh… fair enough if you don’t want to say it. Still, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”  
  
“… It’s not a pleasure. You’re boring.”  
  
“Now that’s straight forward. I agree, I am just a boring piece of trash, but I had _hoped _to have a fair conversation before you would come to that conclusion.” The way his voice trembled on the hoped part made it clearer that the man wasn’t in his right mind.  
But it wasn’t like Kamakura was any better.  
  
“That stare of yours is a little scary, you know.” The man said with a cheerful tone. “Whatever despair you feel when you look at a disgusting bug like myself, I’m sure it will be rewarded with the most beautiful hope, Stranger-kun. I’m already so jealous of you for that.”  
  
Slightly, Kamakura eyebrows lifted in surprise. And then, they did so a little more as he realized the fact that he was _ caught _in surprise.  
Since when did any those who joined SHSL Despair idolized the thought of hope? Wasn’t it their whole purpose now to live only for despair, for death, and to make sure no such thing as hope could survive?  
Was this man not, as he had assumed, a part of their group?  
Kamakura never experienced anything unexpected. That was why everything was boring for him to begin with.  
This however was unexpected.  
The man didn’t say more than a few, simple words, yet already achieved something she could never do.  
  
He sparked his interest.  
  
“Your name…” he heard himself say once again, a dangerous vibe echoing through his voice. “Tell me.”  
  
The man slowly rose to his feet without breaking eye contact, his ridiculous big grin still on his face.  
“Mine?” He responded just like the first time Kamakura had wanted to know. The man barely touched his chain that was attached around his neck.  
  
“I’m simply known as the _**servant** _.”  
  
\-----_

And after he said it, Hinata awoke with a jolt, Komaeda’s words still echoing in his ear. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It took me weeks to write the small part when Kirigiri and Hinata talk to each other. It always felt as though she is just there to play plot device in my previous attempts (and she is really much more than that D:). That's why this chapter is so late.  
> Also, maybe some information about things that could be confusing.  
> 1\. Komaeda still has Junko's hand attached to him, which is why his "hands" are mentioned.  
> 2\. And yeah, I imagine Togami to be one hell of an emotional jerk when he's worried. It's his way of showing that he cares :P
> 
> I finished it at 1 AM, so I'll make a final edit when I'm more energetic. As always, if there is a sentence or a word that strikes you odd, you can tell me. :) And thanks for all the kudos and nice comments guys :3


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